A Vancouver teeth straightening company called NewSmile was sued after a woman claimed that her teeth were not straightened.
Marie Landry sued NewSmile for a full refund of $1,399.
In response, NewSmile suggested that Landry failed to follow her treatment plan and didn’t upload photos as required under its refund policy.
Here’s what the tribunal found.
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Landry purchased teeth aligners from NewSmile in July 2021. The dental company created a preview of how her teeth would ideally look at the end of the treatment.
She approved the preview and then paid $1,200 for the aligners.
After the treatment, she emailed NewSmile that her teeth did not look like the preview. NewSmile told Landry that her teeth had relapsed. They then told Landry that she could achieve the desired results by purchasing additional aligners or refinements for $499.
Landry instead chose to purchase a retainer for $199. She claimed that because the retainer fit perfectly, it meant her teeth didn’t relapse, but due to the technical nature of that claim and a lack of evidence supporting it, the tribunal mostly ignored it.
NewSmile said the blame was Landry’s to bear, as she didn’t follow the treatment plan.
“It says Ms. Landry should have finished treatment of her upper teeth on May 20, 2022. NewSmile refers to a May 25, 2022 email where Ms. Landry says she just finished her upper teeth treatment. NewSmile says this means that Ms. Landry did not change aligners every two weeks as required under its treatment plan.”
After sifting through the available info the tribunal had, it determined that Landry did follow the treatment plan. NewSmile hinged its defence on this idea of the refund policy, which states that it requires customers to upload progress photos every two weeks.
However, that policy had been updated after Landry had her experience.
The tribunal said, “I find that Ms. Landry complied with NewSmile’s refund policy as it existed when she purchased her aligners and during her treatment.”
“Landry paid $1,200 for her aligners from NewSmile. On a judgment basis, I assume that the cost of aligners will be the same at another company. So, I award Ms. Landry $1,200 as damages.”
Including tribunal fees, Landry walked away with $1,407.20.
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